Over (People Like Us)
by ImperialEvolution
Summary: The war is over. The Emperor is dead. The Empire is defeated. Everything they fought for had been achieved. They'd won. Then why did Kanan seem so... empty?
**_A Star Wars: Rebels FanFiction._**

 _ **Over. (People Like Us)**_

 _Disclaimer:_

 _I don't own Star Wars Rebels. Why would I be here if I did?_

It wasn't right.

How could they be celebrating without those many, many people they'd lost? People who gave their lives; spies and soldiers, and everything in between.

Hera couldn't get over the losses they'd faced.

The Empire was finished. Gone. Extinct. They'd won. But the words didn't stir her heart like they had when before the Battle of Yavin.

Hera took a deep breath and forced a quiet, plaintive smile. Lothal had come so far. Once, it was a slave to the Empire. Then it was a haven for the Ghost and it's crew. It eventually started acting in open defiance, refusing to make TIEs and ships for the Empire.

And now it was free. They all were.

Sabine and Ezra were talking, heads bowed. Sabine flashed a grin and nodded, running off into the darkness. Hera approached Ezra.

"What are you planning?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"You'll see," the Padawan said, grinning.

Hera smiled. "I don't doubt it."

"Do you know where Kanan is?" he asked, looking around as if expecting him to pop up out of nowhere.

Hera's eyes narrowed. "I'll find him." And she would - if he missed out on this moment...

Hera's mind wandered as she kept an eyes out for the Jedi. Everyone around her was smiling and laughing, dancing with each other and rejoicing. She only wished she could join them. Her false smile slipped for a second as she thought about Zeb.

Ever since they lost Zeb to the hands of Agent Kallus, there'd been a hole in their hearts. A big, Lassat shaped hole. They all took it differently. Hera decided to do everything she could to help Zeb's memory continue on, laying waste to every single TIE fighter and Imperial ship she could find. Her vengeance would have led to her own death if Kanan hadn't stopped her.

Sabine had lost a brother. Out of everyone, Sabine was the closest to Zeb. She holed herself in her room for weeks on end, only leaving to go on missions and blow things up. Even then, she couldn't hide her tears. She drew more often than she ever had, pouring everything into her art. It took her over six months to finally rejoin the crew.

Ezra... Ezra just disappeared. Became invisible - only speaking when he had too. Sometimes, he'd turn to share a laugh with Zeb, and found himself close to tears. Ezra focused more and more on his training, until he hardly did anything else. Hera eventually ordered him to stop and take a break.

Kanan tried to keep his spirits up when Ezra and Sabine were around, but he couldn't hide from her. They'd stay up late, talking about the Empire, about the Death Star, or sometimes about Luke Skywalker - anything but Zeb. Anything. (Even debating whether Wookies or Wompas were more powerful).

And then there were times they didn't talk. They were the hardest, most heartbreaking nights of her life - seeing Kanan in so much torment. And she couldn't do anything.

The all started waiting for the pain to go away. They all knew it never would.

Hera forced herself back to the present, catching a fleeting glimpse of Kanan's face.

 _So, there you are._

"Kanan!" she said, approaching him. "What's the matter?"

Suddenly, lights flared, and they both looked at the heavens. Fireworks. Bright oranges, pinks, greens and blues light up the sky. Out of the corner of her eyes, Hera saw Sabine and Ezra high-fiving.

"Kanan, talk to me," she said softly.

Everything about Kanan suggested trouble. He didn't look like the valued war hero he is. Although they'd been with the Rebellion from the start, he still didn't want to fight. He was still hiding from the past. But at least he'd stopped running.

Kanan's eyes were dark with sorrow. He looked away from her, his gaze fixing on the fireworks above them. They were clearly Sabine's handiwork, the colours too vibrant for them to be anyone else's.

"What if this new age doesn't have a place for people like us?" he whispered, still refusing to meet her gaze. The energy that buzzed in his coiled form suggested it wasn't the first time he'd thought about it.

 _People like us._

Hera instantly knew what he meant. People whose entire life was the fight. People who had lost sight of everything else. The broken ones. The beacons of hope that would never fit back into normal life. (Not that either of them had ever had a "normal life").

Sabine and Ezra had a chance. They were still young, they had the galaxy at their feet. Sure, they'd fought, but they had a future. Sabine with her art, and Ezra joining the Jedi.

Hera didn't know how to respond. She reached for his hand, twinning her fingers between his. He looked down at her, a tender light in his eyes.

Kanan Jarris was the only one of the crew she could never understand. He was constantly changing, ranging between hero and broken. Most of the time he was their bold, outspoken and charming leader, who always had a plan - even though most of the time, they never worked. But there was the other side the he refused to show anyone but her.

She saw the way his eyes flickered whenever Ezra mentioned other Jedi, like he wanted to flinch away, but he stopped himself. And in the earlier years of the Master and Padawan's bond, whenever he saw himself in Ezra Bridger, he'd force himself to look away.

She thought back to how it used to be when it was just Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarris against the Galaxy, rolling with whatever the universe threw at them, and running when it became too much. Back then... it was different. They barely trusted each other - it had taken a surprisingly long while to reach the level of trust they had now, despite what happened on Gorse.

Hera remembered the first time she'd found the cracks in Kanan's façade.

 _They land on Taris for a shot break and a repairs job, nothing permanent. As night falls, they're both reluctant to head to their cabins. Hera still has to patch up the ship after their latest narrow escape (she wasn't as good a pilot back then), and Kanan has his own reasons (which he won't tell her)._

 _"I'm going to get some supplies," is all he had says as he leaves the ship._

 _Hera has no idea what makes her do it, but she stays up long after the repairs are finished, waiting on her Jedi to come back. She must have fallen asleep, because suddenly, he's there. He smells of grass, spices and faintly of alcohol_.

 _"Where were you?" she snaps at him as he finally makes an appearance._

 _He pauses at the doorway, his back to her, his shoulders tight with tension. His arm rests on the frame, his fingers drumming lightly on the metal. He is hiding. And it's so painfully obvious._

 _"It's nothing... Just nothing," he says finally, leaving her bristling with fury._

 _Kanan never mentions it again, but Hera will never forget the aching pain in his frame as he casts a swift look over his shoulder at her._

It was in those moments that Hera finally had a glance at what was really going on. Moments like now, when he wore his heart on his sleeve.

"Life will never be the same - you're right. But we just have to focus on the now," Hera whispered, seeking his gaze, hoping...

Moments like now, when Kanan's eyes were cold gems of seared emotions. This was how she liked him, when Kanan finally surrendered.

Kanan wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her forward. She looked up at his face, surprised at the sudden show of affection. Hera placed one hand on his chest, and the other still clung to one of his hands, a lifeline.

"I can't go back to them," he whispered. "Skywalker... Skywalker will try rebuild the Jedi. But I..." Kanan clenched his fist against her back, and she could feel the frustration in his body.

Hera half-smiled up at him, her eyes serious and sad. "You don't want to lose us?" she said, tentatively.

He looked her in the eye. "Yeah." His voice was gruff.

"You won't."

Kanan shook his head.

Hera took a step back, shaking of his hold off her, angry and frustrated. "You can be so stubborn, Kanan! You won't lose us. You won't lose me!" She soften her voice as she noticed Sabine's concerned gaze directed at them. "Kanan, I didn't enter your life to leave when you need me. I have stuck by you - how can you possibly think that will change now? It's over. We've won. Just... Don't worry for once."

The Jedi looked at a loss for words. "Love..." he started, but Hera placed a finger on his lips.

"We've won. So enjoy it, love."

A ghostly smile played on Kanan's lips. "We've won," he echoed.

Kanan and Hera were lost under the light of the fireworks, the world was so different but just the same.

But since when had different been bad?

 _A/N:_

 _So there you have it. If you disagree or agree with my thoughts, leave a review! In fact, just leave a review anyway. I mentioned A New Dawn, which I haven't read. So if I got anything wrong, please tell me._

 _I have a strong feeling that Zeb will die. And it will be by Kallus's hand. Call it the Force, call it the sixth sense, call it a wild stable in the dark - I am convinced of this. And I will further explore the Ghost crew's... reactions (for want of a better word) in another one-shot._

 _But until then, see ya!_

 _\- Imp_


End file.
